The Khmer Way of Depicting Energy Flow

Dr. Steven B Halls | November 2025

This material was originally posted to Facebook on 2025-11-23 - view original post.

The Khmer way of depicting energy flow as a series of expanding flux tubes that become open portals, with some energy curling off to the sides and disappearing, other energy going up the middle reforming the flux tube, and repeating the process, image A and B. C is surrealist style, D is nonsense words applied onto real diagrams coming from chakra sources. E is Maya, F is Pompei, G, I and J are from Egypt, H is Art Deco. Image J has several variations of style, but the lotus flowers indicate downward high-density flow in the middle of mostly upward flow, and the cone-shaped leaves at the bottom of the lotus flowers also indicate upward flow, so these are all bidirectional.

Khmer art depicts energy flow as a series of expanding flux tubes that become open portals, with some energy curling off to the sides and disappearing while other energy goes up the middle reforming the tube and repeating the process. Maya, Pompei, Egyptian and Art Deco examples carry the same pattern, and lotus flowers mark downward high-density flow amid mostly upward flow, so these are bidirectional, and the metaphysics concept that high-density energy enters every bit of matter and powers it seems necessary.

What fascinates me is that they don't run out of energy, even though it's spilling off to the sides at every level. The metaphysics concept that high-density energy enters every bit of "matter" and powers/renews it, seems to be necessary to add to how we understand this ancient teaching.